Product description

A STUNNING NEW NOVEL FROM ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS OF ALL TIME!
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.
``I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book.`` - Stephen King

Author information

Stephen King has written dozens of bestselling books including The Shining, The Stand, and The Green Mile. Film adaptations of his work include `Misery` and `Stand By Me`. In 2003, King received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2007 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Customer reviews

From the pulp crime novel cover to the creepy tagline, one can tell you are about to step into the mind of Stephen King. KingÃ??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¢Ã¢?Â¬Ã¢?Â¢s narrator is Devin Jones and he takes the reader back in time to when he worked at the amusement park, Joyland. Devin meets a great group of friends that help him past his break up (because in your twenties any break up seems like it is the end of the world). He also discovers the secret of the Horror House rideÃ??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¢Ã¢?Â¬Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¦itÃ??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¢Ã¢?Â¬Ã¢?Â¢s haunted.

The story goes that Linda Gray came to the fair with her boyfriend. The boyfriend takes her on the Horror House ride and halfway through, slits her throat and tosses her out. All he leaves behind is a bloodied shirt and a pair of gloves. Now it is believed that Linda Gray haunts the ride waiting for her killer to be found.

This story intrigues Devin and he decides to dig deeper to see if he can discover the identity of the killer. This fascination leads Devin on an interesting adventure that ends up putting him and his new found friends in danger.

King has a way of making two complete different story lines come together flawlessly in the end. At times while you are reading you start to wonder what the importance of a scene is, but as long as you put your trust in King, he wonÃ??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¢Ã¢?Â¬Ã¢?Â¢t let you down. This is definitely not a hard core horror novel as most are used to from King but it isnÃ??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã¢??Ã??Ã?Â¢Ã¢?Â¬Ã¢?Â¢t intended to be. This is just a story of love, loss, death and a bit of supernatural. I consider it a nice light mystery to read on a cold rainy day and hopefully will resonate with the younger readers and introduce them to the mastery of Stephen King.

The audio version featured a great narrator, Michael Kelly. His youthful sounding voice was fitting for the age that Devin was.

Review quote

""Joyland "is one of Stephen King's best novels." - Horror Movie Reviews "This book is one of those thrills we come across every so often when least expected!" - Hellnotes ""Joyland "is one of Stephen King's best novels" - Horror Movie Reviews "King saved the big scares for Dr. Sleep, but Joyland is ultimately superior." - Complex's Best Books of 2013 "Set in a dying amusement park in the south, "Joyland" features a ghost and a serial killer, but the real heart of the novel is a coming of age story, one that took me vividly back to my own youth, working the rides at Uncle Milty's in Bayonne." - George R.R Martin ""Joyland" is full of nostalgia and some really sweet moments that had me tearing up. It's easy to forget that anything else is going on, you're so wrapped up in the lives of these characters.4.5 out of 5 Stars (read it, read it now)" - Only The Best SciFi "This one's a must for King fans and may also attract YA readers." - "Library Journal" ..".period murder mystery with a heart...King brings his usual finesse to this tale's mystery elements" - "Publishers Weekly" ..".the book...features some of King's most graceful writing...ruminative, amused, digressive, marvelously unaffected, and finally, devastatingly sad." - "Entertainment Weekly" "An amusement park and murder figure into a coming-of-age tale in this miniature thriller with a hint of the supernatural." - "Los Angeles Times" "Undeniable...charm [and] aching nostalgia...[JOYLAND] reads like a heartfelt memoir and might be King's gentlest book, a canny channeling of the inner peace one can find within outer tumult." - "Booklist" "Wrapped in a gloriously pulpy cover, "Joyland" is a coming-of-age story set in 1973 at a North Carolina amusement park -- creepy! -- that's haunted by a murderer." - "Time Magazine" "Stephen King's carny-saturated "Joyland" evokes the ghosts of summers past -- literally." - "New York Magazine"""Joyland," by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime, June). An old-school, pulpy paperback ghost story set in a North Carolina amusement park." - "Departures Magazine""King's latest thriller, a PG-13 pulp paperback crime novel takes place at a remote carny park where college kid Devin is desperate to see the ghost of a girl whose murderer might still be lurking around the hot dog stands." - "Cosmopolitan Magazine" ""Joyland" is a joy. A gem whatever its genre." - "Tor.com" "This is a wonderful return to old school King." - "We Love This Book """Joyland" is a fantastic story. This is a compelling and yet oddly gentle tale of a young man experiencing the ache of heartbreak and the curve-balls life can throw at you." -"Geek Native" "From horror authority Stephen King comes some hard-boiled action, with all the elements of a good crime novel--including the early '70s, southern secrets, carnivals, and a meddling college kid." - "The Daily Muse" "If you're a King fan you may want to set this on your wishlist " -" Bookmuch" "This Joyland is not innocent, of course. Its retro thrills include an enticingly steamy cover, Hard Case Crime's sensually tactile paperback format, and a cover line that asks, "Who Dares Enter the Funhouse of Fear?"" - "New York Times" "It's good to have a book like this now - simple, sweet, and not a little scary - to remind us that among the prequels and sequels, the epics and the TV miniseries, Stephen King can still spin one hell of a little yarn." "As usual, King slips in and out of genre effortlessly, but it's gratifying that at the core of "Joyland" exists a story worthy of being called a Hard Case Crime." "Misdirection and red herrings abound, delightfully, and the weather-ravaged denouement could play out as the conclusion to a Donald Westlake or Lawrence Block novel." - "FEARnet " "Red meat for any Stephen King fan." - "TalkStephenKing.com " "This is a Stephen King novel that you can start on your vacation and actually finish before the flight home." - "Men's Health," Selected By Amazon "A remarkable tour-de-force." - "Comic Book Resources""This is Stephen King at his emotional best." - Florida Times-Union "It is easy to connect with Devin as well as many of the secondary characters as King develops this descriptive, entertaining tale of personal growth and murder." - Luxury Reading" ""Joyland is pretty much perfect in its pursuit of diversion." "This story of a broken heart, a summer job and a beach amusement park -- infused with ghosts, killers and a boy with "the sight" -- is lovingly streamlined. It starts strong, ends stronger. Sturdy finales are never a given with King, but this one, Constant Readers, will have you gasping and, ultimately, blinking back big fat tears." "The ultimate "beach" book from one of literature's slyest entertainers." - "Tampa Bay Times" "As you read the dialogue, the book becomes less a story about a summer's mystery than a tale of entry into another, coexisting world, one with its own rules, codes, and language." "The splashy and aggressively sexy packaging is the tip of the iceberg." - LA Review of Books

Editorial reviews

A STUNNING NEW NOVEL FROM ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS OF ALL TIME
Set in a small-town...